Untitled California Attorney General Opinion

BACKGROUND

The Constitution requires the Legislature to provide for county boards of education. 1 The Legislature accomplished this in Education Code section 1000, which creates county boards of education consisting of five or seven members, with each member elected by the

1 Cal. Const., art. IX, § 7.

1 20-102 voters of a trustee area. 2 A county board of education generally oversees the schools in the county and approves the budget put forth by the county superintendent.

Charter schools are a class of public schools usually initiated by some combination of teachers, parents, community leaders, and community-based organizations. 4 Charter schools operate differently from traditional public schools: they are governed by California’s Charter Schools Act, 5 which exempts them from many laws governing traditional school districts. 6 Our Supreme Court has explained that the Charter Schools Act “is intended to allow ‘teachers, parents, pupils, and community members to establish . . . schools that operate independently from the existing school district structure.’” 7 The Act “seeks to expand learning opportunities, encourage innovative teaching methods, provide expanded public…